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Bridgeport Sound TigersWed, 07 Dec 2016 17:48:06 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.155716167One flu east, one flu west: Wednesday noteshttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/07/one-flu-east-one-flu-west-wednesday-notes/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/07/one-flu-east-one-flu-west-wednesday-notes/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 17:48:06 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17556Similar group to yesterday, including the early departure of Colin Markison, with one exception: Bracken Kearns sat out, under the weather. (And so it begins.) (Did you see the mumps are at their worst in a decade? At least not in hockey again… yet.)

Feisty Brent Thompson at that practice. Theme: You can’t slack off today just because you have a day off tomorrow. (They still do, by the way, so more Friday unless warranted.) Thompson the first time around was good for one of these every so often; they’ve become fewer and further between in the second go-round.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/07/one-flu-east-one-flu-west-wednesday-notes/feed/017556Mayfield goes up: Tuesday noteshttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/06/mayfield-goes-up-tuesday-notes/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/06/mayfield-goes-up-tuesday-notes/#respondTue, 06 Dec 2016 19:17:45 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17553(Almost said “Monday notes.” Doing a football game on the fourth day of a three-in-three has screwed up my internal clock something fierce.)

This morning with Brent Thompson was one of those old-fashioned Litany of the Injured interviews. One disappearance wasn’t injury-related, though: The Islanders recalled Scott Mayfield, who hopefully, if he returns anytime soon, won’t bring whatever bug has zonked the Big Club. The Isles host the Rangers tonight in Brooklyn.

Josh Ho-Sang was on the ice, and so for a short time was Colin Markison, going through the protocol after taking that hit up high from Colin McDonald the other day. He seems to be doing OK.

Steve Bernier and Josh Winquist remain out, and Thompson didn’t seem optimistic about them for the weekend, but Kane Lafranchise seems to be close to ready.

With all those guys out, Bridgeport brought up Kyle Schempp and, on a PTO, Rocco Carzo (who was in camp) (and who is in 46) from Missouri.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, status quo. A few lines in rearrangement (the only identical one was Dal Colle-St. Denis-Fritz), but a few days to go before they play again.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/06/mayfield-goes-up-tuesday-notes/feed/017553Just a loss: Lehigh Valley postgamehttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/04/just-a-loss-lehigh-valley-postgame/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/04/just-a-loss-lehigh-valley-postgame/#respondSun, 04 Dec 2016 23:38:53 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17551This almost felt like the first game of the rest of the season, the first time in a while I went downstairs without a storyline, just a game: They started slowish, they came back, and the Phantoms got the goal.

The storyline down there seemed to be that they really wanted this one, and it didn’t happen.

“Any time you play a three-in-three game, it’s really about the first period,” Brent Thompson said. “It’s about getting control of the game and not chasing the game.

“Obviously, the first period, I didn’t think we were as sharp as we could be, as edgy or as hard to play against as we need to be.”

Most of my chat with Bracken Kearns, who had three linemates leave on him in three games, wound up in the paper, but the gist was that no matter how well they’ve been playing, they had a game to win today, and they did not, and he’s ticked off about it.

“We played well, but a few little details, we didn’t get the job done tonight,” Kearns said.

…..

I missed live that Colin Markison took a hit up high from Colin McDonald late in the second period; that’s apparently what precipitated his departure. Josh Ho-Sang took a hard hit from Robert Hagg into the end boards after a nice rush on the power play, and he didn’t return. Thompson said they’ll be evaluated; he seemed to think they’d be OK. They don’t play again until Saturday.

Only the third time they finish with more power plays than their opponent. And that after the Phantoms had the first three in the first period.

I feel a lot better about what I thought I saw in warmup. Lamarche and Miele were both definitely out there, then scratched. I thought I had Fazleev, too, who wound up in. (They went, in fact, exactly as they rushed.) Anyway.

Prescout, though Binghamton plays both Albany again and Utica before it hosts Bridgeport next Saturday.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/04/just-a-loss-lehigh-valley-postgame/feed/017551Who needs a day off: Lehigh Valley pregamehttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/04/who-needs-a-day-off-lehigh-valley-pregame/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/04/who-needs-a-day-off-lehigh-valley-pregame/#respondSun, 04 Dec 2016 19:42:19 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17542Mostly the same today as last night for Bridgeport, just Ryan Pulock returning and Jesse Graham the apparent unlucky man out. Stephon Williams gets the go off his shutout yesterday.

For Lehigh Valley, Alex Lyon gets his first game off in a while. He’d played 10 in a row. It’s Martin Ouellette in net. I don’t trust myself on the Phantoms; thought saw all 20 skaters on the roster out there. (You’re only allowed one extra, by rule.) Didn’t have Lamarche or Miele in the line rushes, though they’re both out there now. See how the scratches go. Edit: Told Fazleev wasn’t out there. He and Lamarche are scratched.Edit2: Maybe he was: told now Miele is scratched, Fazleev is in.

It did so in a happy dressing room, obviously. There was a little concern that, with Binghamton in black, the color-on-color might be too distracting. Bridgeport might’ve changed to the whites. It never came to that.

So as fans waved their lightsab… er, Magic Swords, Stephon Williams picked up his first shutout in 13 months in a Luke Skywalker jersey.

“Especially with the success we’ve had, teams are going to be gunning for us.”

It was the first Bridgeport shutout since Jan. 27 — J.F. Berube, against the, ahem, old Springfield Falcons, as was Williams’ on Nov. 7 of last year — and it was sparked by an early penalty kill that included a five-on-three. Ben Holmstrom blocked a shot to help kill that off.

Binghamton put lots of long shots on Williams down the stretch, but he was good, solid whenever tested. He showed off that athleticism, like stopping Francis Perron off a kind of broken play going right to left.

“Willy played great. I thought it was one of his more — probably his best game of the year,” Thompson said. “He was controlled. He swallowed them up. He limited rebounds. It looked like he was tracking the puck well.”

That’s two strong games in a row for Williams, 66 out of 67. Eamon McAdam is 6-0. If goaltending was a question mark with Christopher Gibson out, those two guys have helped ease the worry.

…..

Thought Josh Ho-Sang might have played his most-engaged game. I put it that way to Thompson: “I really liked his game,” Thompson replied. “His play away from the puck was good. He had two fantastic tracks. That helps our D with their gaps and puts a lot of pressure on the puck-carrier. Even one forecheck, he finished a hit.” (That was actually one of the moments I wrote “engagement” a few times.) “The result was still that he got points. If he puts the effort in, he’s going to get the points.” (He still wasn’t credited with a shot on goal, though I thought there was at least one. He got at least one puck to the net, obviously, on Tanner Fritz’s power-play goal. That’s six games in a row without an official shot.)

The gamer is mostly on Travis St. Denis, for whom the floodgates are open. “It was good to see him get rewarded,” Thompson said. “He hasn’t changed his work ethic or the way he practices.”

Well, actually, he worked harder. (Williams mentioned St. Denis’ work ethic, too.) “I knew I was struggling,” St. Denis said. “I was staying after practice shooting pucks, shooting during practice burying every chance.

“And also being better in the defensive zone.”

His first goal came on Bridgeport’s first shot, 11:30 in. The Sound Tigers had just about started the game on the penalty kill, but the kill came up big.

It also meant that Stephen Gionta didn’t get an even-strength shift for a while… though he appeared on the first shift of that first penalty kill. “Injured, out for two months, and my first shift’s on the PK. That’s always a good way to start,” Gionta joked. I had him for 12 five-on-five shifts, but a few on the penalty kill and one at four-on-four, too. “After the first period, my legs felt a lot better,” Gionta said. “I got them under me. I started moving my feet.”

Just good to be back, too: “The fun part of this game is playing,” he said.

Prescout. The top four teams in the East Atlantic are separated by a point. (Incidentally, that whole what-if-they’d-lost-all-those-OT-games thing of mine? The cold water is more lukewarm now: At 9-6-6, they might be five points behind a third-place Hershey team, but they’d still be in fourth, a point ahead of Providence.)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rookie Thomas Di Pauli, meanwhile, is out 10-12 weeks after back surgery, the team announced.

Back at it tomorrow. (Shortly.)

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/wave-your-magic-swords-binghamton-postgame/feed/017540Line change: Binghamton pregamehttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/line-change-binghamton-pregame/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/line-change-binghamton-pregame/#respondSat, 03 Dec 2016 23:37:22 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17535With Josh Winquist and Steve Bernier out — Bernier day-to-day though doubtful tomorrow, and Winquist perhaps a little longer — and Connor Jones suspended, Bridgeport puts an assortment of new guys in and gets Scott Mayfield back. There seemed to be a possibility that they’d go with seven defensemen, putting in Loic Leduc, if a forward couldn’t go, though I’m not sure who that is. Binghamton also has one to scratch; first blush was Macoy Erkamps, just up from Wichita. Edit: Leduc is scratched, so guess whoever it was is OK.

It’s meanwhile a bit of a milestone night. In the summer of 2001, the guy who’s over the defense on the other bench tonight, Steve Stirling, hired a former Yale defenseman as his assistant coach with the Sound Tigers. Dave Baseggio was an assistant here for four years, then head coach for one more, a total of 400 regular-season games. Until tonight, that was the most anyone had coached for the Sound Tigers.

Tonight’s lightsabers turn out to be “Magic Swords.” Disappointing. Also, the X-Wing pilot jerseys are — hate to say it — one of those that are cooler off the ice. Tough to read the TV numbers.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/line-change-binghamton-pregame/feed/017535Four games for Connor Joneshttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/four-games-for-connor-jones/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/four-games-for-connor-jones/#respondSat, 03 Dec 2016 21:18:41 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17533The league handed down a four-game suspension to Connor Jones this afternoon for his check on Jayce Hawryluk last night in Springfield. Referee Cameron Voss gave Jones a match penalty under Rule 48.

Among suspensions that don’t involve leaving the bench or penalty box for fights, and that don’t partly involve automatic suspensions for accumulated instigators or game misconducts, the only one longer to a Sound Tiger is Kip Brennan’s 15 games in 2008 for slugging Portland’s Geoff Peters. It ties Marc Cantin’s four-game ban in 2014 for a check to the head, though Cantin had also been suspended for three games for the same reason just a month earlier.

Jones gets the next two weeks off, eligible to return Dec. 14 in Allentown.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/03/four-games-for-connor-jones/feed/017533Ins and outs: Springfield postgamehttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/02/ins-and-outs-springfield-postgame/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/02/ins-and-outs-springfield-postgame/#respondSat, 03 Dec 2016 04:20:38 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17531No, look, the shots were weird: Shots on goal may have been 13-4 after one and 21-10 after two, but the Thunderbirds had chances on which they misfired.

Ironically enough, in the third, when Springfield had a 12-10 shots on goal edge, it was probably an even more even period than that.

“Our structure tightened up the last five or six minutes,” Brent Thompson said. “We did a good job not giving up anything in the neutral zone.”

The Thunderbirds scored on a four-on-three, and that was all that beat Eamon McAdam, giving the Sound Tigers two goalies who are 6-0.

Down to nine forwards by the end of it, they got the job done. And they got two guys back, including Ryan Pulock, who indeed played special teams and his regular shift.

Thompson said he’d like to see Pulock a little more assertive, both with the puck and physically, when he plays next, whether that’s tomorrow or Sunday; he said they’d discuss that and see how Pulock felt.

“Marky (Colin Markison) brought us energy,” Thompson said. “It was a good first game for him. … I’m sure he’ll get a little more comfortable moving forward. Pulock, same thing. I thought it was a good first game.”

…..

While they came back, Steve Bernier and Josh Winquist left. Didn’t see Winquist, but Bernier appeared to be moving OK; just said something was bothering him. Lower body on both, said Thompson, who said he hadn’t talked to Dave Stickney about those two guys. They have bodies, at least.

Connor Jones probably faces a suspension for his hit on Jayce Hawryluk in the second period, which was called a match penalty. “I watched it again. The guy had his head down,” Jones said. “I was playing hard. I’m not trying to hurt anyone. If you watch it again, it was shoulder-to-shoulder.

“It’s unfortunate. I hope he’s fine.”

Prescout. The last time Binghamton was in, the Sens were the ones putting up 6-spots. A couple of transactions this morning for the B-Sens.

Winning in Springfield has been rare for Bridgeport of late — this is only the second time (2002-03) that the Sound Tigers have won their first two visits here, though there were a few years with only one or two visits in the meantime — but it pales in comparison to Utica in Albany.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/02/ins-and-outs-springfield-postgame/feed/017531Scratches: Springfield pregamehttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/02/scratches-springfield-pregame/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/02/scratches-springfield-pregame/#respondFri, 02 Dec 2016 23:35:59 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17527No shots in five games for Josh Ho-Sang, no points in four… “It’s not about points,” Brent Thompson said in a quick chat in the hallway tonight. “It’s about effort and play away from the puck. (From that) the points will come.” Ho-Sang is a scratch tonight, as is Carter Verhaeghe from the other day’s lineup.

Ryan Pulock is in, apparently for Loic Leduc, and so are Colin Markison and Ross Johnston. Scott Mayfield was sent down this morning; not sure if he has to get his NHL-CBA-mandated day off because he was up for those back-to-back games or not, but either way, he’s out tonight and expected to be in tomorrow at home.

Springfield’s Jayce Hawryluk looks to make his pro debut. Second-rounder two years ago had 106 points in 58 WHL games last year. It looked like MacAulay was their scratch, or at least I didn’t see him rush.

]]>http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/02/scratches-springfield-pregame/feed/017527Injured list gets smaller: Thursday noteshttp://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/01/injured-list-gets-smaller-thursday-notes/
http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/2016/12/01/injured-list-gets-smaller-thursday-notes/#respondThu, 01 Dec 2016 19:23:50 +0000http://blog.ctnews.com/fornabaio/?p=17525Back on the ice for the Sound Tigers, and it looks as if all of Stephen Gionta, Colin Markison and Ryan Pulock are available for the weekend, with Kane Lafranchise possible.

It’s possible that they all play only two of the three games, assuming they’re in. Brent Thompson implied that Saturday might be more likely for Gionta’s return than Friday, for instance, which would change at least one of today’s practice lines.

Back-to-back Star Wars Nights for the Sound Tigers. Springfield has its night Friday. Bridgeport wears special jerseys Saturday. Will have to get the “hang ON back there” tweets ready to go.

The Big Club survived one last night, but getting to watch Scott Mayfield pick up a couple of assists on national television was fun. Over the years, Mayfield has talked at times about wanting to shoot more and wanting to jump into the play more. He got a point off both of those last night.

Fresh off his three-point game in Bridgeport on Tuesday, John Quenneville got the call to New Jersey.